A Youth's History of the Great Civil War
Van Evrie, Horton & Co., ©1866
Revised edition, ©2006 www.ronie-mooney-encs.us
The views expressed in the following document do not necessarily represent the views of www.ronie-mooney-encs.us. This document, originally published in 1866, has been provided to the public based solely on its potential value as a historical document.
CHAPTER XXII, THE FALL OF NEW ORLEANS-INFAMY OF "BUTLER THE BEAST",
NEITHER the people of New Orleans, nor the Confederate Government at Richmond had any fears whatever of New Orleans falling into the hands of the abolitionists. But their dream of security was fallacious. An immense Federal fleet had long threatened that city, without venturing to make any demonstration against its defensive works at Forts Jackson and St. Philip.
But on April 17th, 1862, Flag-officer Farragut commenced bombarding the forts. His fleet consisted of forty-six sail, carrying two hundred and eighty-six guns, and twenty-one mortars. Many of these guns were of the most formidable size. General Duncan was in command of the forts. He had twelve gun-boats, one iron-clad, and a ram war-boat called the Manassas. He was regarded as one of the best artillerist's in America. After a terrible bombardment had been carried on against him for one week, he telegraphed, on the 23d of April, that the Federals had made no impression upon his works. It is said that 25,000 thirteen-inch shell were thrown from Farragut's mortar-boats, without doing the least damage to the works.
But at half-past three o'clock on the morning of the 24th of April, Farragut's fleet steamed up the river, and by an astonishing feat, absolutely ran the gauntlet between the two forts, placing the city of New Orleans completely at his mercy. General Lovell, the commander of the Confederate land forces, had a small force of Confederates in the city, but he was requested by the civil authorities to withdraw without making any fight, to save the city from the destruction of a bombardment. This General Lovell consented to do, after some hesitation, as it was certain that it would be impossible to remove the women and children in any time that would be allowed by the Federal commander. Besides, General Lovell had no force, and could get none, to save the city from either destruction by bombardment or surrender. It was therefore agreed between him and the mayor that the city should be surrendered, or rather left for the enemy to enter without resistance. For the Mayor refused to go through any ceremony of formally surrendering the city.
Flag-officer Farragut was very rude and haughty in his communications with the Mayor. For instance, the State flag of Louisiana floated from the City Hall, and Farragut sent word that it must be hauled down. This was not only an unreasonable but a very foolish demand, as the flag was the emblem of State authority, and not that of the Confederate Government. Mayor Monroe refused to haul down the State flag. The city was at the mercy of the Federal commander, and he could do what he pleased, but the flag would not be hauled down by the order of the city.
Several days elapsed in this correspondence between Farragut and the Mayor. Farragut threatened to bombard the city with all the men and women in it, if the State flag was not taken down. But no Louisianian could be found to tear down the State flag, even with these brutal threats of destroying the city continually coming from Farragut.
At length he was brought to his senses, probably by the fear that the transports freighted with Ben. Butler and his army would arrive in time for that notorious character to share in the honors of first occupying the city. So on Tuesday morning, the first of March, Farragut gave up all he had been contending about with childish weakness for three or four days, and sent some of his own men to tear down the harmless State flag of Louisiana.
General Ben. Butler took possession as military governor of the city on the 1st of May. Then commenced a reign of insolence, despotism, and terror, such as was never before witnessed in any Christian or civilized country. Ben. Butler before the war was a lawyer of a great deal of bad eminence, in Lowell, Massachusetts. He was considered a man of considerable ability, but utterly destitute of integrity and honor. This reputation was a thousand times more than confirmed by his infamous rule in New Orleans. Even women and young girls were subjected to the most scandalous treatment and torture at his hands.
The private citizens were plundered, not only of their gold, but of their jewelry, their silver-ware, and all articles of value Butler could lay his hands on. The elegantly furnished mansions of private and merely business citizens were in many instances stripped of all their most valuable articles, or taken possession of by some of the most brutal and shameless of Butler's officers, and converted into dens of debauchery and every other infamy.
Both men and women were savagely torn from their families and sent to dungeons for such things as laughing at Federal soldiers, and other harmless acts, which were never before treated as offences by any civilized nation. In some instances the dead were dug up by Butler's order, to see if rings and other valuable jewelry had not been left upon their person by the afflicted relatives. To such an extent were these horrid deeds practiced that the wretch obtained the cognomen of "Butler the Beast," by the common consent of mankind- a title which will stick to his infamous name as long as the memory of the war shall last.
An English officer in the Confederate service has the following remarks on the cruelty and brutality of Ben. Butler's rule in New Orleans: "The rule of General Butler in New Orleans has been forever rendered odious and detestable by his many acts of cruelty, despotism, and indecency. Nor shall I add more than say, that he has rendered himself contemptible to friends and foes throughout the civilized world. His general orders are a mass of cruelty and folly-an eternal monument of his base and indefensible character; and in his persecution of women, he has shown his unmanly disposition and temper, beyond all former example."
He imprisoned a Mrs.Phillips on Ship Island, on the charge of laughing at the funeral procession of a Federal soldier.
The truth of the case was as follows: Mrs.Phillips (wife of Phillip Phillips, formerly United States Senator from Alabama) was standing on her balcony; and when the cortege passed,many children in the next house, who had a dancing party, ran to the balcony, and all began to laugh. She was treated barbarously on Ship Island, and went deranged; but Butler laughed at her sufferings, but would not mitigate the punishment, saying that "all women were strumpets who laughed at Federal soldiers" He wished it to be believed that he was fearless, yet he wore armor under his clothes, slept on board ship, and was never for a moment without an armed guard, whether in or out of his house, while several pistols, ready cocked and capped, lay beside him, and sentinels walked within five paces of him. He had a large sign placed in his office in the St.Charles Hotel, with the inscription:
"A she-adder bites worse than a male adder."
This was the first time in the history of the world where people were imprisoned for the harmless folly of laughing at either the living or the dead. Smiles were never before punished as a crime. But the infamous tyrant who committed these crimes against humanity and law, will be repaid for all his barbarity, by having the contempt of the virtuous of all mankind while he lives, and by having his very family and friends shrink from the mention of his name, as "Butler the Beast,"when he is dead.
His deliberate murder of a young man by the name of Mumford alone would stamp his name with eternal infamy. William B. Mumford had taken down a United States flag which some soldiers had placed there, and which was wrongfully there, because the city had not, at that time, been surrendered, nor formally occupied by the Federal army. And if it had been, the act of taking it down was an act of war, and not a crime. But it was in reality neither an act of war nor a crime. And besides, it was done before Butler had formal possession of the city. For this Butler ordered him to be hanged, and he was hanged. A more cold-blooded murder never took place, and the brave young man well said, when standing upon "Beast Butler's" gallows, "I consider that the manner of my death will be no disgrace to my wife and child;my country will honor them." And so it will, when the name of this brutal assassin is placed in history by the side of the most infamous criminals of the world.
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